How long can you make it without looking at your smart phone or tablet? A day? A week? How about several weeks? As in other seasons, contestants on Big Brother 15 are forced to ditch their phones. Suffice to say, it’s not an easy prospect. How will this season’s contestants deal with the loss of their gadgets?

Big Brother is back, and, as per the usual, contestants are barred from having any contact with the outside world. This means no TV, radio or newspapers. And most importantly: no smart phones! This rule is nothing new on Big Brother, but in recent seasons, it has posed much greater of a problem than in the past.

Executive Producer Allison Grodner says that contestants are able to deal with the loss of television and radio, but really struggle when their smart phones are confiscated. She explains that they “feel like they have a missing limb. They feel that phantom vibration. There’s a lot of that tech addiction they’re trying to shake.”

Of course, if it’s really an addiction to technology the contestants are battling, cutting them off from technology plus all other access to media might be a little harsh, right? But the show’s executive producer thinks that through this approach, the reality show is actually doing contestants a favor. “Being cut off from all of that…all of a sudden really sharpens the senses. It’s a challenge, but everyone comes out of this with a new appreciation of what’s important.”

How long do you think you could make it without access to any contact with the outside world? Leave a comment and let us know!